The Nigerian equities market extended its strong bullish momentum into the final session of July, wrapping up the month with a remarkable 16.57% gain—the highest monthly return in recent years. On Thursday, the NGX All-Share Index rose by 0.42% to close at 139,863.52 points, up from 119,978.57 points recorded the previous day. This performance lifted the year-to-date return to 35.89%, with July alone contributing over 50% of that growth. Market capitalisation followed suit, increasing by ₦369.76 billion to finish at ₦88.42 trillion, driven by sustained demand in fundamentally sound and momentum-backed stocks.
The rally was fueled by significant buying interests in names such as WEMABANK and UACN, both gaining 10.00% and hitting fresh 52-week highs at ₦22.00 and ₦80.30 respectively. GUINNESS climbed 9.96% to close at a new high of ₦17.05, while SKYAVN surged 9.95% to ₦90.05. CUSTODIAN, TRANSCORP, DANGCEM, UBA, DANGSUGAR, ARADEL, ZENITHBANK, and ACCESSCORP also posted notable gains, contributing to the market’s positive close. However, despite the upbeat sentiment, market breadth closed negative with 52 decliners outpacing 28 gainers. MANSARD, LEARNAFRCA, and FTNCOCOA led the laggards, while several counters including MECURE, CUSTODIAN, and ROYALEX also touched new 52-week highs.
Investor activity remained robust, as total volume traded rose by 20.32% to 1.11 billion shares valued at ₦33.65 billion across 37,370 transactions. FCMB recorded the highest volume with 121.54 million units traded, accounting for 10.96% of the day’s total turnover. On the value side, WAPCO led the chart with ₦3.53 billion in traded value, representing 10.50% of the day’s market value, followed by DANGCEM and MTNN.
From a technical standpoint, the NGXASI broke decisively above the 139,000 psychological resistance level, reinforcing the bullish channel formation that has defined market behavior in recent weeks. Price action remains firmly above the 20-day and 50-day moving averages, while a steady rise in volume confirms strong participation by both institutional and retail investors. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) continues to hover in the overbought zone, suggesting the possibility of near-term profit-taking, although the medium-term trend remains intact.
Overall, the impressive monthly performance, coupled with strong corporate earnings and renewed investor confidence, suggests the market may maintain its upward trajectory into August. However, traders and investors should remain cautious of short-term corrections while focusing on fundamentally resilient stocks with clear growth catalysts.
